This is a thread for posting both resources and suggestions on how you can make a difference in stopping animal abuse.

We hope to add links for specific animal issues as well as what official agencies abuse/neglect should be reported to. This is for both individual cases and bigger entities such as pet stores or puppy mills.

We have a few people on this board that have been or are currently involved in rescuing and dealing with abuse cases and I hope they will contribute their expertise on ways we can all make a difference.

This is not a thread for posting individual cases or stories. Please do not post stories from the news about actual cases. If you think or know about an animal in need but are not sure how to handle helping that animal or who to contact, posting that to get suggestions is fine. We would like to try and keep this an information thread though.

I used to do cruelty investigations for these type of cases with animal control. Here's the best advice I can give you:

1) contact your local animal control and check on city ordinances on chaining, hot days (it is illegal to have dogs tied up outside on a hot summer or a cold winter day without appropriate shelter (shade or warmth) and water. These are all very specific to communities, but they do give you something

2) monitor the dog and keep a log of when the owner has contact with it. I have successfully prosecuted an abuse case where the owner only had contact with the dog once per day for a couple of minutes when the fed the dog. You have to keep careful records of this---and tell animal control what you are doing as you are doing it.

3) monitor the dogs time out in bad weather conditions. If the dog is chained during pouring rain, the owners can be prosecuted for neglect as a result of lack of shelter if the dog isnt' using the igloo house.

1) Pay attention to cages -- are they clean? is there waste piled up or urine 'puddles'?

2) Look at each dog --- do they looked bathed, hair matted, scratching their ears, etc...

3) Ask about their suppliers, are they well known breeders? -- typically the sales person will know nothing but inquire as to where they get their dogs -- say 'I have never heard of that breeder, do you have their phone number?' Report the breeder regardless -- get them investigated

Bottomline -- get the sales person talking and if they really really care about animals they will start to ask themselves the same questions and if something is up they will turn on the owners of the store.

Now I basically call the Humane Society anytime I see a 'puppy's for sale' sign and say I think their facility is sub par and they should investigate the situation regardless of how clean it is. Follow up, call a couple of times.

It’s important to know the people involved in several LOCAL resources. The SPCA, the Humane Society, Animal Control, Local Dog and Cat Rescue/Adoption groups. Find out who these people are, their phone numbers, e-mail addresses etc. Remember these groups are already working together as a network (usually) and can be tremendous resources.

There are some groups that specifically go out to public schools to educate the children on proper care and respect for animals. It all starts with education. Find out from the above groups and organizations if any group is doing that.

I like Vet’s suggestion about keeping a log. Pictures would also be useful.

http://www.idausa.org is another great resource. You can also go to their “action alerts” section, read about cases (warning this can be heart-wrenching) and write to the prosecuting judge and ask for maximum penalty.

Get involved with town meetings of your local government (I mean the most local to you, the town or suburb or District within the city). Propose that they officially recognize their citizens as animal “guardians” by incorporating the term into their city ordinances. Point out the statistics of animal abusers graduating to people abusers. Organize a booth for education on “community day”, labor day, etc.

Remember not all cases of neglect are intentional. In the case of elderly owner or mentally incapable, they are barely caring for themselves and need help with the animal. My neighbor approached an old lady in her home when she noticed the neglected dog. She asked the lady if she could help her by taking the dog and finding it a home. The lady relinquished the dog to her. She cleaned him up (infested with fleas, underfed etc.) She had the dog in a loving home within a week.

Essentially get connected and get into action. Be the cause of positive change.

Get involved with town meetings of your local government (I mean the most local to you, the town or suburb or District within the city). Propose that they officially recognize their citizens as animal “guardians” by incorporating the term into their city ordinances.

The guardian or owner debate may be discussed in the thread I started, let's keep this one uncluttered if possible.

Pet Store Abuse, this is a great informative site, and it even has a link to file a complaint against a pet store! Remember that it's not just dogs and cats that may be mistreated in petstores, there are the "pocket pets" (ferrets rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, etc), birds, reptiles, and fish that should have proper care and housing.

If you know of a pet store that abuses or neglects their animals, don't just ignore the problem. It's up to you to make a difference for those animals. There are ten very important things that you can do quickly and without any real hassle:

1. Do NOT attempt to "rescue" animals. Taking an animal only frees up space for another one and tells the manager that they may need more! Even if they give you the animal for free, you are just making their jobs easier. Instead of bailing pet stores out by buying their sick animals, we should encourage them to carry higher quality animals and provide veterinarian care to animals that need treatment.

2. Document neglect or abuse with detailed notes BEFORE you bring attention to yourself. If you complain to management before you document your concerns, you may lose your chance (they will likely fix the problem temporarily or even ask you to leave). Things to look for include sanitation, physical health of the animals, and overcrowding. (For a list of guidelines, visit: General Pet Store Guidelines.) Also note the exact time(s) you were in the store.

If possible, take photos or video of the animals. To avoid breaking the law, stay in public areas and, if filming video, keep your microphone off. Make sure the timestamp feature of your camera is enabled if it has one.

3. Ask to speak with the store manager. After you've documented the abuse, find the manager. Calmly explain to them what is wrong, giving clear solutions and referring to reliable resources. Listen to any excuses*. If the manager seems unreceptive, contact the store owner.

*A common "excuse" is that the animals were received in bad condition from the supplier, and therefore it's not the store's fault. If that were true, the pet store should be able to show they have the animals under a veterinarian's care, or that they have made arrangements for the supplier to take the animals back.

4. Research laws governing pet stores. To protect animals in pet stores, several states have enacted pet store animal welfare laws. These laws also exist on the federal and municiple level. (Visit this page for more information on pet store laws.) Have copies of all applicable laws on hand when you are filing a complaint.

5. File a complaint with your local animal control agency. If possible, make an appointment to accompany the investigating officer to the store and point out the individual animals in distress. Call the next day to find out what is being done.

Some areas (especially more rural parts of the country) may not have a designated Animal Control Department and the power to investigate cruelty cases may have been assigned to the local humane society or the local police. If you are unsure of who to contact, try the checking the government pages of your phonebook, or you can use the ASPCA's Humane Law Enforcement Lookup page to locate the agency in your area.

6. If the store is part of a chain, complain to corporate headquarters. If the store is a chain (such as Petco or Petsmart), call the 1-800 number for headquarters and talk to an "animal care coordinator". Make sure you write down the names of everyone you talk to.

7. Write a complaint letter. It's important that you leave a paper trail in case future cases are brought against the store. In your letter, write down your list of complaints, giving dates and approximate times, and copies of any pictures or video you've taken. Outline any laws that are being broken. For an example, click here.

Send copies to the store, the corporate offices (if applicable), the store's landlord (if applicable), the local animal control agency - EVEN IF YOU'VE ALREADY CONTACTED THEM VIA PHONE - and:

* Your county or state health department. Animals kept in unclean conditions can create serious public health risks by being more likely to transmit zoonotic diseases and parasites (salmonella, monkeypox, psittacosis).

* Your city council or county board of commissioners. Send them a letter about how the store is an embarrassment to your county. They might then choose to deny a renewal of the store's local business license.

* If the store sells exotic or wild animals, the USDA. If the pet store sells wild or exotic mammals (degus, sugar gliders, prairie dogs, flying squirrels, etc.), complaints concerning ANY mammals in the store should be reported to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service office in your state. For contact information, visit http://www.aphis.usda.gov/contact_us/ac.shtml or call (301) 734-7833. For more information on the USDA's connection with pet stores, click here.

* If the store sells native species, your state's Department of Natural Resources (or Fish and Wildlife). In some states it is illegal for pet stores to sell any native species of reptiles and amphibians. Use Google.com to locate the appropriate website.

* If the store is in a shopping mall, the mall manager. Ask the mall management not to renew the store's lease. Send them copies of all complaints.

8. Ask local experts to verify your claims or assist with the complaint. If you know of any herpetological societies, zoo personnel, or veterinarians, ask them to visit the store and file a complaint as well.

9. Boycott the store and encourage others to do so as well. When you spend your money in these types of stores, even just buying a box of dog biscuits, you're supporting the poor quality care of the animals. If you have nowhere else to shop for pet supplies, consider buying from one of the many reputable online suppliers. When considering a companion animal, always adopt - don't buy! For a list of shelters nationwide, click here.

10. Notify the local media. Some news stations and newspapers will do investigative reports on neglectful pet stores.

See a dog constantly chained up? This site offers ways you can speak to the owner in a positive way, and ways you can help both the dog and the owner. Sometimes it is not that an owner is purposely bad, but they might not know any better or have the means to change a situation. There are How to's on building a trolley and fencing, educating kids, and flyers and handouts you can print out. Another GREAT site that really needs to be visited to appreciate all the information on it.

Flower I think the word Guardian here is being used differently than your discussion thread on Guardian verses Owner. I think the idea is to get the citizens involved in sort of a neighborhood watch over the animals. Whatever the proper term would be, it’s a matter of getting it into the City ordinance.

Flower I think the word Guardian here is being used differently than your discussion thread on Guardian verses Owner. I think the idea is to get the citizens involved in sort of a neighborhood watch over the animals. Whatever the proper term would be, it’s a matter of getting it into the City ordinance.

As the laws stand now people are owners, if they become "guardians" then people's rights go out the door. I do not want the term Guardian to be used for all the reasons given in the other thread and want Owner to still be used.

Puppy Mills. The majority of puppies you see in pet stores come from puppy mills. I can't say every puppy mill is a place of horror, but a good number of them are. Don't buy a dog at a pet store and pass information on to other people on what they are encouraging to continue if they do buy from a pet store.

The Animal Welfare act was passed to enforce regulation on the care and conditions in large scale breeding facilities (puppy mills). The USDA is the enforcer of those regulations. Under Mandatory Spaying and Neutering Bills trying to be passed, Puppy Mills would be exempt, meaning they will have free reign to breed, and to breed more with the opportunities opened up by RESPONSIBLE breeders becoming fewer and fewer.

Click and read the following links to learn the truth about puppy mills and what is allowed to go on and will still be legal to go on in the wake of altering laws. Do a search on "puppy mills" and you will find links and links and links.

This is a thread for posting both resources and suggestions on how you can make a difference in stopping animal abuse.

We hope to add links for specific animal issues as well as what official agencies abuse/neglect should be reported to. This is for both individual cases and bigger entities such as pet stores or puppy mills.

We have a few people on this board that have been or are currently involved in rescuing and dealing with abuse cases and I hope they will contribute their expertise on ways we can all make a difference.

This is not a thread for posting individual cases or stories. Please do not post stories from the news about actual cases. If you think or know about an animal in need but are not sure how to handle helping that animal or who to contact, posting that to get suggestions is fine. We would like to try and keep this an information thread though.

Found this article on the internet. Often criminals start off being cruel to animals. Thought this interesting.